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Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress who is one of Carrie Underwood's henchmen in MYCUN. In 2002, she rose to fame after winning the first season of American Idol, and has since been established as "The Original American Idol." Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and broke the record for the biggest jump to number one in the chart's history; it became the best-selling single of the year in the country. She became the runner-up of World Idol the following year. She voiced the character of the same name in MYCUN, but with or without the director's permission. History Early life and career beginnings Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann (née Rose), a first-grade English teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer. Clarkson is the youngest of three children with a brother, Jason, who appeared in one of her music videos, and a sister, Alyssa. Clarkson also has two younger half brothers from her father's second marriage. Clarkson's parents divorced when she was six years old, following which her brother lived with their father, she stayed with their mother, and her sister went to live with an aunt. Clarkson's mother later remarried, to Jimmy Taylor. Her ancestry is Greek (from a maternal great-grandfather), Welsh, English, Irish, German, and Scottish. Her mother is a descendant of Republican state senator Isaiah Rose, whose life story was discussed on Clarkson's episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, in 2013. Clarkson was raised Southern Baptist. She has said: "I always grew up in church. I was the leader of our youth group. I’ve always grown up pretty close to church and with God. But I think I’ve just gotten a lot closer just because He’s the only One I can lean on." She later said of her upbringing: "My family was highly conservative; I had to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday." Clarkson was educated at Pauline Hughes Middle School and in the seventh grade, the school's choir teacher, Cynthia Glenn, overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told her that she had never received any professional vocal training. Clarkson graduated from Burleson High School, where she performed in several musicals, such as Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Brigadoon. She sang at her high school talent show, after which an audience member shared some inspiring words with her: "God has given you this gift. You've got to sing. You're destined to sing." Clarkson continued singing and soon started classical training, hoping that music would be her ticket to a college scholarship. Upon graduating from high school, Clarkson was offered full scholarships to The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee College of Music, but later declined them, explaining: "I've already written so much music and wanted to try a career on my own" adding, "you're never too old to go to college." After graduation, Clarkson worked several jobs to finance a demo, recording material and trying to market it to record labels, but received little response. Clarkson turned down two recording contracts from Jive Records and Interscope Records, stating "They would have completely pigeonholed me as a bubblegum act. I was confident enough that something better would come along." In 2001, she traveled to Los Angeles, trying to pursue a career in music. She appeared as an extra in a few television series such as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Dharma & Greg and briefly worked with musician Gerry Goffin to record five demo tracks in trying to secure a record deal. Lack of other career opportunities and a fire incident in her apartment forced Clarkson to return to Burleson, where she worked at a movie theater, promoted Red Bull energy drinks, and worked as a telemarketer and as a cocktail waitress in a comedy club. Career 2002-2003: American Idol and World Idol﻿ Upon returning to Burleson, Clarkson was encouraged by her friends to audition for the inaugural season of the reality television series American Idol: The Search for a Superstar in May 2002. Despite receiving a golden ticket in the series premiere, Clarkson made her first appearance during the second episode. Clarkson went on to win the competition on September 4, 2002 at the then Kodak Theatre (now Dolby), earning 58% of the votes against runner-up Justin Guarini and without being sent into the bottom three throughout the season. In an interview in 2012, Clarkson referred the inaugural season as "ghetto", explaining: "On our season we were like kids in camp. Nobody knew what to do. The show was ever-changing every day. They did one season of Pop Idol in the UK but America is a very different market. They dropped us off in a mall and said find some clothes to wear on national television. I am maybe the closest to white trash you can get. What do I buy? White pants I guess? I definitely looked like a cocktail waitress." Immediately after winning American Idol, Clarkson was signed to a record deal with RCA Records, 19 Recordings, and S Records by talent manager Simon Fuller, who created American Idol; and music mogul Clive Davis, who was slated to executive-produce her debut album. Clarkson was later accused of working with a record company prior to winning American Idol. American Idol's rules stated that a contestant was not allowed to compete on the program if they had been linked to a record company. However, she was cleared of all allegations, as she only had a contract in order to conduct demonstration work. On September 17, 2002, her debut double-A-side single, "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This", was released. Both songs were performed by Clarkson during the season finale of American Idol. The single debuted at the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the week ending September 21, 2002 at number 60. The following week, it climbed to number 52, and subsequently ascended to number 1, breaking a 38-year-old record set by the British band The Beatles for the biggest leap to number one after their single "Can't Buy Me Love" rose from number 27 to number 1 in April 1964. It became her first number one single in the U.S. and Canada and eventually went on to become the best-selling single of 2002 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On December 25, 2003, Clarkson participated in the television special competition World Idol in London along with the inaugural winners of the several Idol television series around the world. Clarkson was contractually obligated to participate, and performed Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". On January 1, 2004, she became the runner-up behind the first Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen. More coming soon! Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Humans Category:Villains Category:Antagonists Category:Adults Category:Cast and crew Category:CUYGGNs Category:MYCUN characters